The Green Party Deputy Leader Catherine Martin TD has come out strongly in support of NUI Galway students today, who protested the 18% increase in rents at Cúirt na Coiribe.
She joins politicians such as Éamon Ó Cuív TD and Cllr. Mairéad Farrell in pledging her support for the students.
The Spokesperson for Education said today: “The timing and scale of this hike in Cúirt na Coiribe, up to a €1,000 increase, coming as it does right in the middle of exams, has resulted in anxiety and stress for students – leaving them with huge decisions to make in a very short space of time if they want to secure accommodation for September.
“The hike of rents in Cúirt na Coiribe is just another example of rising costs of university and living for young people across the country.
“In the middle of an unprecedented housing crisis, rents across the country are continuing to be entirely unsustainable for young people, both students and non-students. The government needs to take action to ensure greater rights for tenants of all descriptions, and to increase funding to our third-level institutions so that the burden of increased registration fees and other university charges does not fall squarely on students who are already struggling with rising rents.”
Galway West Green Party Candidate Pauline O’Reilly has said that she was “dismayed but not entirely shocked” by the rent hike in what she called “an entirely unregulated sector”.
“We are seeing students in hostels for months on end, students living in cramped conditions and now this opportunistic move by Cúirt na Coiribe and I am fully supporting the Student’s Union protest,” she said.
